Research Projects

Growing vegetables and fish together with no use of fertilizers and pesticides, along with the introduction of sensors and regulators to make the system automated are the future of the human quest for efficient nutrient uptake. The aquaponic system is such sustainable food production system that links aquaculture with agriculture by taking advantage of wastewater coming from aquaculture and using it as a nutrients source for plant growth. Vis-à-vis the plant purifies the wastewater and reduces the overall water consumption by the aquaculture for its freshwater exchange. The uneaten feed and excreta of the culture species make the ammonia level of the tank water unbearable for themselves and demand regular freshwater exchange. In order to eradicate these issues, further treatment of this wastewater in an advanced bioreactor system to convert the ammonia to viable nitrogen species for the plant i.e. nitrate is the need of the hour. After the treatment, it can be well utilized by the plant, and the final water coming out of the system will be void of unwanted pollutants for further utilization in the aquaculture tank. The challenges faced in conventional aquaponics were regular monitoring of the pH, temperature, and other climatic factors and proper supply of feed at adequate time intervals. Water quality management of such systems is a big task and requires constant care, monitoring, and maintenance, which is considered a major drawback of the same. Therefore, the research will be driving towards developing automated, smart aquaponics systems with the involvement of different water quality sensors and actuators for proper monitoring of culture species as well as air surveillance systems for the optimum climatic condition for the plants, and low-cost moisture trapping devices to reduce the overall water consumption. One of the major research contributions will be the introduction of bio-electrochemical systems (BES) like microbial fuel cells (MFC) for the treatment of aquacultural wastewater before introducing it to the plants and also the efficacy of rope-bed biofilm reactor (RBBR) and their comparison with standard moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR). This treatment is necessary for complete nitrification to occur and to supply able nutrient sources to the plants for their optimum growth. It is therefore planned to develop a fully automated vertical type aquaponics system with several air quality sensors such as CO2, temperature, and humidity sensors to monitor the plant health at elevated CO2 levels. Water quality sensors viz. ammonia level sensors, pH, DO, digital light sensors for optimum illuminance, etc. will be introduced to the system for maximum efficacy with least human intervention. The project mainly emphasizes incorporating vertical farming technology and smart aquaponics system effectively with limited space utilization in a controlled environment for higher yield and lesser water and energy consumption for urban farming.